The Hand of Fate is a Fickle Thing
by GottaLuvJoey
Summary: Summery inside. It's too long to fit here! Rated for later chapters... may go up, may come down! So, please R&R! YAY! NEW CHAPPIE!
1. Curtain Up!

_Here we are with yet another story... HOW I get these random ideas, I have even less clue than you. Anyways, here it is... And, for the 1st time EVER, I'm NAMING my chapters. Other than "Chapter (insert number here)" I mean. I've also included the Summery in here, because it wouldn't fit in the required box. Enjoy!_

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Huh, if I did I wouldn't be able to torture the charries like I do!

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****_Summery: "Elegance" is the newest star at Lili's, a dodgy nightclub on the wrong side of town. She seems aloof, but deep down she's seething with self-hatred. Why, though, is something only she knows.Seto Kaiba just got free tickets to a show with the same name on the other side of town. All it needs, methinks, is a push in the right direction... something Fate just might deign to give._**

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**"Elegance?" 

"Who wants to know?"

"Who could it be? You're on next."

"Great."

"Gee, don't sound so enthusiastic."

The plain white door swung open, the small gold star on the front shimmering, and a young woman stepped out. She had long black hair that curled around her face in glamorous-looking curls, and big purple eyes. She wore a sparkling purple leotard, and not much else. Her feet were bare, except for a silver toe-ring on her left big toe. She glared at the young man who had spoken. "For _your_ information, I was warming up. And I don't appreciate being disturbed."

"Whatever." The young man shrugged, apparently unaffected by the ferocity of her glare. "Hurry it up. Like I said, you're on next."

Elegance rolled her eyes and retreated back into the small changing room. The door swung closed behind her, and the young man shook his head. Then he carried on down the corridor, whistling a slightly off-key tune.

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Seto Kaiba was angry. 'This is _unacceptable_. How can a restaurant be open if it's roof isn't fixed on properly?' he fumed inwardly, glaring at his reflection in the mirror and shuddering at the bruises above his right eye, and across his chest. That was the _last_ time he was going to give _that_ restaurant his patronage again. He fingered the bruises lightly. 'They'll be hearing from my lawyers in the morning… as well as the City Health Officials! And, I suppose, those vampires at the gossip magazine, but _they_ hardly count.' 

"Seto? Are you up?"

"Yes, Mokuba. Come in." Seto strode over to his bed and shrugged on a shirt. 'No need to scare him.'

The small, black-haired boy entered, and his face lit up when he saw his brother standing beside his bed, doing up the buttons on his shirt. "Seto!" he cried, and ran forward to hug his brother. He broke away when his elder brother yelped in pain. "Seto! Are you okay? What happened? I'm sorry!"

"Mokuba, I'm fine." Seto gingerly patted his ribs. "Just bruised. Nothing serious."

"I'm so sorry… I just got so worried about you!"

"I know." Seto smiled. "What happened after the beam fell?"

"The owner came and called the hospital, which sent an ambulance."

"Remind me to send a donation to the hospital."

"Sure. Anyway, the medics hefted the beam off of you with the help of all the patrons and the waiters and then they strapped you up and took you away…" Mokuba's voice quivered, but he took a breath and steadied it. "They called me from the hospital, and I told them to take you down to the Kaiba Clinic… and here you are."

"Good work, Mokuba." Kaiba put a hand on his little brother's shoulder. He hadn't missed the quiver.

"Thanks." Mokuba's face suddenly broke into a grin. "The owner gave me this to Charles to give to you… he gave it to me."

"Charles?"

"The chauffeur. Anyway, here it is." He pulled an envelope out his pocket and held it up.

It seemed inoffensive enough, so Seto took it. "Thanks, kid." He yawned. "What's the time?"

"Ten o' clock."

"_WHAAAAT_?"

"Seto! I _told_ them to let you sleep! You always push yourself so hard… I thought you'd need a break."

Taking a deep breath and centring himself, Seto let go of his anger. He returned to the present and smiled. "It's… fine. Really. Thanks Mokie." He yawned again. "I'm to bed – and you should be, too. Might as well get an early night's sleep when I can. Good night."

"'Night!" Mokuba walked to the door and grinned at his older brother. "Sleep well." Then he was gone, closing the door closed gently behind him.

Seto lay down carefully on the bed. After what seemed like hours of restless movement from one painful spot to another, he gave up and pushed himself into a seated position, switching on his lamp. In its circle of light, something white caught his eye. The envelope.

'Oh, well, might as well read it now.' Seto reached out and grasped it. On the front in the messy hand of someone in a hurry was the words 'Mr. S. Kaiba.' He opened it, and inside were two tickets to see the latest play, called, according to the tickets, 'Elegance'.

Seto shrugged, and then winced at the pain. Like he'd ever have time to go to any play. Besides, if he was going to go _with_ someone, he needed to buy more tickets. Two was just enough for him and one bodyguard.

There was a note with the tickets, written in the same hurried handwriting. 'Sir. My sincerest apologies for what happened this evening. Please accept these tickets as I saw the extent of your wounds and figured you would need something to keep you occupied while you healed. Please let me know if you are going to press charges. Many thanks, Mr. M. Banks, owner of Le Canard restaurant.' There was a telephone number written underneath the name.

Seto sighed. 'Does this man think I do _nothing_ all day, that I have time to watch a _play_. Really. If I'm not there, Kaiba Corp. will… will…' _Fall to pieces? How melodramatic,_ observed a little voice in Kaiba's mind.

'Okay, that was a bit… excessive.' The idea began to take root. 'Yes… Mokie can handle the company for _one night_, for heavens sakes. Like he said, I need a holiday.'

Feeling slightly amused at his own silly arguments, Kaiba lay down again, and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

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_So, nu, whaddaya think? Review, please! I always update faster when I've gotten positive reviews... (hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink)_


	2. It's All In the Look

_Here we are... chapter two already! _

_Man... I'm HUNGREEEEEEEEEE! -sigh- It's Ta'anit Ester or the Fast of Ester today, and I haven't eaten since I woke up. It's 6:05PM now, to give you an idea. Well, tomorrow's Purim, so that's cool. I'm dressing up as Luna Lovegood. Tried to get radish earrings but couldn't find, so I have RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS hanging from me ears! -snort-_

_Okay, I'll stop rambling on. I'm _rather_ excited. I LOVE Purim!_

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**Disclaimer: Don't own YuGiOh!**

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_I'd like to wish all Jewish a Purim Sameach! (that's a Happy Purim!)_

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**Look at the 1st chapter for the summery. Goodness knows I ain't gonna write it out AGAIN!**

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Seto Kaiba stared at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't look anything like himself – which was probably just as well, seeing that he was in disguise. He just hadn't realised how utterly _different_ a little clothes and make-up could make him. 

He wore a platinum blonde wig, which reached down to the middle of his back in a style reminiscent of the one that Bakura kid who hung around with the geek-squad had. Right now it was tied back in a loose ponytail. His fringe hung down over his eyes, almost obscuring them. He could see out, but nobody could see in. This thought brought a small smile to his face. Maybe he should use this wig more often. Not the pants, though. He pulled uncomfortably on the waist of his low-slung jeans. These ridiculous pants were almost falling _off_ they were so low. He scowled. He much preferred _normal_ pants, thank you very much. At least _they_ weren't covered in holes and a few well-placed rips. The black t-shirt wasn't so bad, although wearing the thick green GAP hooded jersey at this time of year was pure insanity.

There was a tap on the door.

"Enter."

A tall muscular man entered the room, dressed in a smart suit and tie. He fingered the sunglasses in his left hand longingly, as though he felt unprotected without the cover they provided. "Are you ready, sir?"

"Yes." Kaiba took one last look at himself in the mirror and grabbed his cell-phone and iPod from his desk. The iPod was not the slim light blue affair that Seto had gotten Mokuba for his birthday. It was thicker, and the cover was covered in jungle-style leaves. There were no songs on the iPod – it was only part of a disguise, after all. "Let's go."

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The suited man stood back to allow Kaiba to exit the room before him, then followed him out, closing the door behind him with a quiet 'click'. 

Elegance stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her brown tresses were swept back into a bun, leaving only a few strands to curl around her face. Her purple eyes were rimmed with black, and mascara'd, to make them stand out against the sparkling purple eye shadow that decorated her eyelid. She carefully applied a coat of thick, smooth lip-gloss to her light lavender lips, and scowled at her reflection. Then, with a contemptuous flick of her head, she turned away from it.

_I hate this… but what else is there for me? I can't do anything else. Worthless. _She sighed and began to add the finishing touches to her costume. She would be on, soon.

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The car motored smoothly down the road. The bodyguard tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel, uncomfortable with what his boss had instructed him to do. 

Kaiba sat staring moodily out of the window, trying to get into character. How _did_ normal teenagers act? He cast his mind to those he knew.

_Not Yugi… I wouldn't be able to sustain being **nice** to everyone for so long. The mutt? Well, even if he is an idiot, he's all I've got to work with. I'll just **base** my character on him. No need to adopt his swollen head and idiocy. _

Kaiba watched the city go by with unseeing eyes as he built a whole new character for himself in his head. No one would ever even _suspect_ that it was he; he would make sure of that.

"We're here, si – I mean…" The bodyguard floundered. His employer had instructed him to treat him as a son for the disguise, but he only had daughters of his own – the only bodyguard with children on the Kaiba workforce, as it happened – and he had no idea what to even _call_ Mr. Kaiba, never mind how to treat him.

"Kisho," filled in Seto, saying the first name that came to mind.

"Right… um, Kisho, we're here." The bodyguard placed the name Kisho under the heading of 'titles' in his mind, and breathed easier. "Let's go!"

Seto climbed out of the car and looked around. "Are you _sure_ this is it?"

The bodyguard looked nervously from the shabby, dirty run-down buildings around them to the piece of paper clutched in his hand. "Yes, s – Kisho."

Seto's eyes narrowed, but he shrugged. Anything was possible. "So, let's go in. No point standing here like some lost sheep."

"Right… Come on, Kisho."

Seto slouched after the bodyguard, trying to get into character.

"Bringin' the boy, eh?" asked the tall, muscular man at the door.

"Yup," replied the bodyguard, lapsing into a mirror image of the bouncer's rough speech. The two men were instantly at ease with each other, as they towered over everyone else.

"Should be good. New broad on tonight."

"Really. Should be worth a – "

"Father," interrupted Seto, loath to use the word _dad_. "Are you going to spend the whole night talking or are we actually going to go in?"

"This the brat, eh?" The bouncer sized Seto up. "Takes after you in height, I see. Name of?"

"Kisho," growled Seto.

"We'd better go in," said the bodyguard quickly.

"About _time_!" complained Seto, following the man past the bouncer.

Once inside, he looked around. "An eat-while-you-watch affair," he mused, taking in the tables set in a semi-cicle around the stage.

The bodyguard hustled him to a booth at the back and pushed him down.

"Do you _mind_?" snapped Seto as the man slid into the seat opposite him.

"Well, if I treat you as my boss, people will think it's a bit strange. I'm a big guy, so I'm playing to the stereotype." The bodyguard shrugged. "I've done this jive before."

"Fascinating," sneered Seto, rolling his eyes.

"What can I get you?" asked a woman. Seto stared at her from under his fringe. She wore a tight waitress outfit that shimmered in the low lighting and showed more cleavage than Seto would have ever cared to see. She noticed him and grinned. "Wotcher, mate!"

"_What_ did you say?"

The waitress laughed, a loud coarse guffaw that made Seto cringe. "It means hello. Kids!" She looked over at the bodyguard. "What can I do you for?"

"A beer for me… and a water for him."

"_Water_?"

"Yes, water." The bodyguard hid a grin with immense difficulty. He'd pay for it later, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up. "I want to keep an _eye_ on you, sonny."

"You'll needmore than_one_if you want to be any good," muttered Seto.

"We'll see. That's a water, then."

"Right-o." The waitress clattered away on her high-heeled sparkly slipslops, humming.

The lights dimmed. The bodyguard looked around, and then suddenly a look of recognition dawned on his face, followed swiftly by a look of sheer panic.

"I think it's starting," commented Seto, swivelling towards the stage.

"Kisho – we have to go!" whispered the bodyguard, leaning forward. "Mr. Kaiba – now!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" growled Seto. "What's the problem?"

"This is… sir… this is the wrong – "

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_Cliffhanger! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! _

_So... Review, peoples! That little purple button don't bite, y'know!_

_ciao!_


	3. It's Time, Elegance

_Hey! Thanks for the reviews... -evil laugh- Me LIKES cliffhangers! Well, enjoy!_

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**Disclaimer: I don't own YGO!**

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_**Summery: Heck, no, I ain't rewrinting it! Go look in the first chapter, lazy!**_

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"This is… sir… this is the wrong – "

Seto put a finger to his lips as the slightly moth-eaten curtain rose. Unable to get his message across, the bodyguard leaned back, ready at any moment to grab his boss and leave. He could lose his job over this mix up!

A spotlight struck the stage. Two young women dressed in shining purple leotards and huge tails of purple feathers stood side by side, shielding something with two oversized purple feathers. A sinuous melody wound through the audience, dragging even the eyes of the worried bodyguard to the stage.

The two women on stage start to dance, gyrating their hips provocatively. Their movement caused the feathers to ripple, though they did not reveal anything. The dancer on the left winked at the audience, and the two slid down into the splits. Their feathers lowered to reveal….

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Elegance could feel the spotlight hit her skin, its heat caressing her uncovered back. She wished she could stay like this… just curled up on the stage until the show was over. But if she messed it up, she wouldn't get paid. She placed her palms on the floor and unbent her legs to sit in the splits. Her thighs screamed at her, but she gritted her teeth and ignored them, still looking down at the floor. Then, with a rustle of purple feathers, she was on her own.

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… a woman whose back was bared to the spotlight. Her head was lowered; all Seto could see was her brown hair, twisted into a bun. Her back rippled sinuously, and on the edge of his line of vision he could see the other two dancers getting gracefully to their feet. The centre girl's long bare legs extended on either side of her, shimmering in the spotlight. The part of Seto that was analytical and cold remarked that she must have used some kind of body glitter. Seto, without really even thinking, took that part of him and shoved it as hard as he could deep into the recesses of his mind. The original two dancers waved their feathers up and down, over the centre girl's body and spun away off the stage. The centre girl was still for a moment, and then her back rippled and her long legs drew closed behind her. She lifted her upper body off the floor, and somersaulted forward, bringing her head up sharply at the end. Her big purple eyes were glittering fiercely over the top of her purple veil, and Seto felt his own blue ones drawn to them. They sparkled with a playful light, somehow tempered by something within that Seto couldn't quite place. This could only be… the main attraction… _Elegance_.

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Elegance stared at the audience, hidden beneath the protective cover of darkness. Her mind went blank for one, heart-stopping moment, but then the music changed and she felt herself rise automatically. All those hours of practice had served their purpose. She stood, hands out to each side, fingers flexed dramatically, and paused, allowing the eyes of the audience to travel up her body to her face. She felt the soft material of the veil touch her face as she drew in a breath. The tempo of the music sped up, no longer the lazy, yet somehow striking tune it had been. She brought her hands together at her waist and pulled sharply downwards, freeing the long, see-through skirt and allowing it to drop to calf-length. Her foot began to tap impatiently on the floor to the rhythm of the music, eager to begin.

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Seto watched, entranced, as Elegance launched into a fast-paced, extremely seductive dance. He felt a blush creep onto his face as she made a particularly sharp turn and swung her hips, so that her gauzy skirt flew up. Her hands met her thighs, and the blush deepened. He couldn't watch, yet couldn't look away. She was so… defiant. She didn't just dance, she flaunted her body as if to say, 'Look what I've got – and I'm proud to have it!' All eyes were glued to her spinning, gyrating form as it flew through the dance in a whirl of seductive perfection. He was hooked. He risked a glance at his bodyguard, scared to miss a moment of the performance, and saw that he was hooked too – they all were. Elegance had taken the entire club by storm. She stalked over to a pole and wrapped her leg around it, letting her body drop back until only her leg held her up. She lowered her leg to the ground next to the pole, and in one quick twist was right behind it, watching the crowd with knowing eyes. She began to, slowly, slide her body up and down the pole. 

Seto stared. His cheeks were lightly flushed, getting worse every time Elegance moved. He was grateful for the darkness and for the long fringe that hid his embarrassment – and his wonder. This woman was making him… _feel_ things. Things he'd never experienced before. He tore his eyes away from her sparkling beauty and felt a pang. '_It's a shame that a beautiful girl like her must be reduced to_ this,' he found himself thinking, and pushed the thought from his mind. He had to get out of here – the atmosphere was warping his mind. He would definitely be having a word with the restaurant owner who had given him the tickets to this place… but they hadn't needed tickets to get in. The bodyguard had just paid. '_That was have been what he was trying to tell me! We're in the _wrongplace!' He began to rise to his feet, but then his eyes caught Elegance's amazing purple orbs and he was reeled in once more. She disengaged from the pole and began to dance again, moving faster and faster until her feet were nothing but a blur.

She twirled and leaped, twisted and kicked her legs high in the air, building the audience to an anticipatory crescendo. Nobody had even noticed that the music had abruptly switched off some time earlier – Elegance was their only concern. She ran, jumping every few runs in a stylised jazz-style position, to the back of the stage, and… stopped dead.

You could almost feel the tension in the air. Seto pushed his fringe aside, hoping for a better view.

Elegance raised her hands, ever so slowly, and then launched into a series of forward flips, landing perfectly on the very edge of the stage with both arms raised erect. The crowd broke into thunderous applause and wolf-whistles. Elegance smiled mysteriously and cartwheeled off the stage.

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_Ta-da! Heh heh... I blushed while writing this chapter!_

_Okay, so, interesting bits of author-info aside, please review!_

_ciao!_


	4. Witness to Murder?

_A new chapter! Sorry it took so long, but at least it's here, right? -grin-_

_Enjoy..._

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_**_PLEASE NOTE: THERE _IS_ LANGUAGE IN THIS CHAPTER.

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_**Disclaimer: I don't own YGO, yadda yadda, you know the drill!**_

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**_"Mr. Kaiba? Mr. Kaiba, I'm so sorry! It was an innocent mistake, I never meant to – _**"**_

"Shut up," snapped Seto. "You'll compromise our cover." He stared moodily at the stage where Elegance had been.

"Yes, uh, son."

Seto bit off a sharp retort as the memory of whom he was supposed to be rose up through the haze in his mind.

"Hey, boys… drink up! You enjoy the show?"

"Uh, yes… thanks." The bodyguard accepted his drink and smiled. The waitress smiled back, her very white teeth glinting in the dim light.

Seto raised an eyebrow behind his fringe.

The waitress pursed her lips. "It's a tough life, I gotta say it."

Rolling his eyes behind his blonde fringe, he got to his feet – anything to head off more conversation.

"Where are _you_ going?" asked the bodyguard.

"I'm tired. This place _sucks_." Seto flinched inwardly at the colloquialism that sprouted from his lips… no, from Kisho's lips. Seto Kaiba _never_ used colloquialisms, but Kisho might. He filed the observation away for further study at a later point.

"You have no idea," sighed the waitress under her breath as she turned and walked away.

"Let's go, then." The bodyguard got to his feet and threw some money on the table. As he slid out of his seat, Seto noticed that the bodyguard had tipped their waitress heavily. He rolled his eyes. Really.

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Elegance pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and slipped her hood over her head, hurrying through the cold night air to the comparative warmth of the car. 

"Where _were_ you? I been waitin' here for _hours_!" The tall, handsome man in the old, dented car scowled at her. "I'm late, you stupid bitch. Where you been?"

"I was just getting dressed," Elegance snapped, opening the door.

A hand shot out of the interior of the car and struck her cheek. "No sass from you. Damn whore."

Elegance hung her head and slipped into the seat next to him, one hand pressed to her tingling cheek.

The man glared at her, his sparkling green eyes narrowed in dislike. He held out a demanding hand.

Elegance stared at the hand, and pressed her lips together, steeling herself. It had sounded so simple, when she had practised back in the change room, but now she needed all the courage she could find. "What do you want?" she asked quietly.

"Not only a slut, but stupid, too. The _money_. You know, that green crinkly stuff?" His tone was patronising, taunting.

"It's mine," Elegance muttered, half to herself. "I wont give it to you."

_Smack_! The blow made Elegance's head jerk back and bang the window, hard. There was a horrible crack when it connected, but that did not stop the man. He unbuckled his seatbelt and leant over to her, pulling her face towards his. "Listen, hussy," he breathed, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "That money is _mine_. You owe me your life, and this is how you repay me?"

He shoved her back, pinning her against the seat. "Nobody, but _nobody_, treats Cormac Slade like that. Especially not some slut-bitch-whore off the street." His eyes gleamed as his hand drew back, and he laughed as he punched her again and again.

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Kaiba walked swiftly through the cool night air, now glad of the warmth his jersey provided. His bodyguard walked beside him, not saying a word. Kaiba knew that he was worried and a small smirk tugged at his mouth. _Let him suffer a little longer…considering that this whole thing **is** his fault_. 

There was a noise up ahead. Shouting, sounded like. The bodyguard moved just a little closer to his employer, his instincts telling him that this could not possibly end well. The car door opened.

" – of my car. We're done for today!"

A body was flung out of the car, the door slammed, and the engine revved. As the car sped off into the night, one thought drummed through the bodyguard's head.

"We're _witnesses_. _Murder_ witnesses."

And that's when he started to run, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

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_Et voila!_

_There you have it!_

_Tell me what you think... Too hectic? Just right? I want to know!_

_this is GLJ, signing off..._


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